Vortex water cooler



1953 c. D. TILDEN 3,074,243

VORTEX WATER COOLER Filed Dec. 28, 1961 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVHVTOR.

Jan. 22, 1963 c. D. TILDEN 3,074,243

VORTEX WATER COOLER Filed Dec. 28, 1961 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 IN VEN TOR.fmm'mvfl. 7710:

Jan. 22, 1963 v TlLDEN 3,074,243

VORTEX WATER COOLER Filed Dec. 28, 1961 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 5| 50 I"AHA/\HAW 154 a a 55m 0!? t a: 1 E 0 INVEN TOR. CAQLETON 0. 77mm UnitedStates Patent Ofifice 3,074,243 Patented Jan. 22, 1953 3,074,243 VORTEXWATER COGLER Carleton D. Tilden, Painesville, Ghio, assignor toCleveland Technical Center, Inc. Filed Dec. 28, 1961, Ser. No. 164,217 3Claims. (Cl. 62-5) This invention relates generally to refrigerationapparatus, and more specifically to a water cooling system for diesellocomotives.

This application is a continuation-in-part of application Serial No.103,046, filed April 14, 1961, now abandoned, entitled Vortex WaterCooler.

A refrigeration device known as a Hilsch vortex tube is a device whichhas been thoroughly examined in the laboratory and found to be entirelyworkable, but of little or no commercial utility. Actually, this devicewas discovered by Georges Joseph Ranque and first patented in France in1932. This device is the essence of simplicity and consists essentiallyof a straight piece of pipe with a means to cause a rapid swirling ofair supplied to the pipe at about 100 pounds pressure. Some of the airis caused to issue from the pipe at an elevated temperature and anotherportion of the air to issue from the opposite end of the pipe at aconsiderably colder temperature. Temperatures as low as -30 F. have beenaccomplished.

Nevertheless, this device has never been practical for any commercialuse for the simple reason that it is highly inefiicient.

About the same time as the invention and development of the vortex tubeprinciple of cooling there was the beginning of another industrialdevelopment to take profound efiect upon the transportation industry ofthe world. This was the development of the diesel locomotive. Steamlocomotives had been the principal prime movers in America and in manyother countries of the world and began to be replaced by diesel power inthe decade beginning about 1940. In the cab of the usual steamlocomotive there could be found a bucket of water for drinking purposes,and sometimes this bucket would have some ice provided in it at thebeginning of a run. However, the manufacturers who developed theacceptable diesel locomotive usually also manufactured water coolers.Therefore, diesel engines from their earliest models have generally beensupplied with electric water coolers.

The electric water cooler was quickly accepted by the railway operatingpersonnel, and generally disapproved operating the engine unless thewater cooler was operative to supply them with cool drinking waterduring working hours. In fact, because of the severe vibrationconditions found in such a locomotive, the electric water coolers veryoften have been the source of considerable delay in moving railwaytrains. The conventional water cooler is subject to rapid deteriorationand breakdown because of the vibration conditions, and generally therailway crew objects to moving the locomotive until the water supply iscorrected.

Accordingly, it is a prime object of the present invention to provide awater cooling system for a railway locomotive which will be resistant toservice failure by reason of vibration and similarly severe operatingconditions.

Although the vortex tube principle is notoriously inefiicient as acooling system in comparison with other types of refrigeration devices,it has been observed that the railway locomotives have an abundantsupply of air compressor capacity which is idle most of the time. Thiscompressor capacity is used to pump up the brake system of the train andsupply control air to the locomotive. Once the lines are pumped tocapacity the air is no longer needed and the pumping capacity runs idlewith no further use for its output capacity. Accordingly, it has been anideal combination to provide the vortex type of cooling, which isincapable of deterioration under vibration of the nature found inrailway locomotives, with the vast air supply which is not used most ofthe time when water cooling is needed.

Accordingly, it is another principal object of the invention to providea new and useful application of the principle of vortex cooling, whichapplication affords a practical method for cooling drinking water inrailway locomotives.

A more specific object of the invention is to provide an improved vortexcooling device in combination with a railway locomotive, the deviceemploying the idle air compressor capacity of the railway locomotive toform an improved and novel system for cooling drinking water.

Furthermore, there are various types of industry where sparks cannot betolerated. A prime example is a munitions factory. Some mines are highlyexplosive in nature. In these locations there is a need for some powerdriven devices, and compressed air is employed for such devices in spiteof the fact that compressed air driven mechanical devices are expensiveto operate in comparison with electrically driven devices. In suchindustry there is an abundance of air available. Furthermore, thepresent invention does not require any device which will produce aspark. Accordingly, it has been found to be that the present inventionis ideally suited for use in explosive surroundings which has a supplyof air for power purposes. Thus, workmen are not denied the benefits ofcool drinking water because they are working in dangerously explosivesurroundings.

Other objects and a fuller understanding of the invention may be had byreferring to the following description and claims taken in conjunctionwith the accompanying drawings in which:

FIGURE 1 is a side elevational view illustrating the schematicrelationship of the various parts employed to produce cool drinkingwater according to the present invention;

FIGURE 2 is an enlarged detail view of the vortex tube employed toproduce the cold air for refrigeration;

FIGURE 3 is a section taken along line 3-3 of FIG- URE 2;

FIGURE 4 is a section taken along line 44 of FIG- URE 2; and,

FIGURE 5 is a side elevational view of the diesel locomotive and watercooling combination which comprises one aspect of the invention.

Referring first to FIGURE 1 of the drawings, the general arrangement ofthe parts is shown in a schematic arrangement suitable for the intendedpurpose. A cabinet 10 is provided as a general housing. An arrowindicated by the reference character 11, indicates the entrance of airinto the system from a suitable source, which is preferably thecompressor of a locomotive. This air is usually in the range of top.s.i. The air is led through a heat exchanger 12, in this particularillustrated embodiment of the invention, although this exchanger 12 isby no means essential to the operation of the invention. From the heatexchanger 12 the air passes to a temperature control valve 13 which iscontrolled and activated by the temperature sensed by a bulb 14 actingthrough a capillary lead 15.

When the valve 13 permits, air passes then to a vortex assembly 16 whereit expands and forms a high speed vortex, as will hereinafter bedescribed in more detail. The vortex spirals down the tube to a throttleend 17 where the excess heated air is released. The remaining air, stillspinning, forms a core up the center of the hot tube and downwardlyspinning air and moves to wanted disturbance leaking into the vortexregion.

an orifice 1 8 just above the point of entry of the air from the valve13 (F16. 2). This counterflow of spinning air up the core of the hottube is in the process of losing heat all the way, and after passingthrough the orifice loses more heat by further expansion through theorifice. At the pressure indicated, it is common to receive a resultanttemperature of zero degrees Fahrenheit, or less, after passing throughthe orifice l3.

As shown in FIG. 1, the c ld air passes from the orifice 18 through atube 1? to a cooling coil 20 surrounding a water tank 21. A water supplybottle 22 is inverted over tank 21 and sealed by a collar 23 to supplywater to the tank 21 as needed.

The air leaving the coil 29 is usually about 4% to 3 degrees after thewater temperature has been stabilized and therefore the exhaust air canbe used to advantage to cool both the incoming air and the hot tube ofthe vortex assembly in which the vortex is created. For these purposes,the preferred embodiment of the invention includes an exhaust line 24which connects the coil 29 to the heat exchanger 12. A second exhaustline 25 leads from the heat exchanger to the vortex assembly 16 wherethe exhaust air is introduced around the hot tube.

It has been found that the temperature drop of the air is fixed inrelationship to the temperature of the air supplied. The temperature ofthe air passing tnrough the orifice 18 will depend to a considerableextent upon the amount of air allowed to escape from the throttle end17. The greater the amount of air that escapes, the colder will be theair remaining. However, the colder remaining air is much smaller involume and hence has considerable less cooling capacity than a largeramount of air at somewhat Warmer temperature might be. Therefore, thethrottle 17 must be adjusted to pro duce the desired balance of coolingcapacity and temperature reduction.

The assembly 16 is preferably mounted in shock mounts 26, particularlyfor mobile use such as in railroad locomotives, although vibration willnot deter the proper operation of the assembly, but vibration will causemetal fatigue and hence is to be avoided as much as possible.

Turning now to the FIGURES 2 through 4, the particular vortex assembly'16 illustrated for the purpose of this invention has been developed asa simplified structure capable of being manufactured inexpensively andefliciently by common machine tool method.

A tube 36, sometimes referred to as a hot tube, provides the chamber inwhich the vortex phenomenon takes place. To provide structural means ofassembly, a body 27 is provided as a top cap end for the tube. This body27 is threaded externally as indicated by reference character 28. Aprotecting skirt 29 is secured to the body 27 and extends downwardlysubstantially to the end 17 of the tube 3%. The exhaust line 25 from theheat exchanger 12 is shown connected to the skirt 29 so that therelatively cool exhaust air can be introduced into the skirt around thehot tube 30. Note that there is a throttle structure 31 at the end oftube 39, which projects from skirt 29.

A jet body 32, having jet passageway opening 33 therein is located toreceive air from an annular passageway 34 and direct the airtangentially of the central opening 35 produced by the tube 3% and thecentral bore 27' of body 27. Air is supplied to the chamber .34 by pipe36 leading from the valve 13.

A top cap structure 37 is threaded to engage the threaded portion 28 ofbody 27. Member 37 is thus adapted to act as a clamp to hold the member32 in the position illustrated in FIGURE 2. An O-ring seal 38 keeps theair in the chamber -34 and prevents un- The upper end of cap member 37has an externally threaded stud 39 to which a fitting 40 is threaded tosecure the line 19 to the vortex assembly. The top cap structure.

37 also defines a chamber 45 which is downstream from the constricting,axially disposed cold air outlet orifice 18. As noted above, the coldair stream loses more heat as it passes through the orifice 18 into thechamber 45.

The throttle assembly 3-1 is important in the understanding andoperation of this vortex device. The swirling air passing down tube 36gathers heat from the center core of air moving upwardly through thevortex. This hot air is bled oil by allowing the air to escape throughannular orifice 4.2 and outlet ports 43. Valve structure 44 isthreadably carried in the structure 31 and thus may be adjusted to openor close the annular orifice 42 as desired. It has been found that thegreater amount of air that escapes through orifice 42 the less will bethe volume of air returning up the tube as a vortex core. However, theless the air returning, the colder will be that air in temperature.Hence, the valve structure 44 may be adjusted to achieve a desiredbalance of air volume and temperature.

Reference is now made to FIG. 5 which illustrates the combination of theforegoing structure with a diesel locomotive 50. As shown, thelocomotive 50 includes a cab 51 and an engine room 52. The aircompressor 53 for the locomotive is located in the engine room and thecabinet 10 which houses the water cooling system is shown as beinglocated in the cab 51. The air compressor 53 is connected to the intakeline ll of the Water cooling assembly.

As noted above, the pumping capacity of the compressor 53 normally runsidle after the brake system has been pumped to capacity. According tothe present invention, this idle pumping capacity is used to advantageto supply the required air for the water cooling system. The compressoris driven directly from the engine crankshaft (not shown) and may havean output capacity of from to 300 c.f.m. Thus, it will be seen that anadquate supply of air is available for the water cooling system when thelocomotive is in operation.

In conventional electrically operated water cooling systems forlocomotives of the type shown, it is necessary to provide a D.C.generator and a storage battery, the generator being driven by theengine crankshaft to charge the battery. The usual electric coolingsystem further includes a DC. motor which is operated by the batterycurrent to drive a Freon compressor in the water cooler. A condenserwhich is cooled by a fan must also be provided to remove the heatgenerated in the compressor.

It will thus be apparent that the vortex water cooling and locomotivecombination of the invention provides a practical system for coolingdrinking water that does not require the several, relatively expensivecomponents of an electric cooler. Equally important, the vortex coolingsystem does not require the constant maintenance and frequentreplacement of parts necessitated by electrically operated systems, andis not subject to failure because of the vibration, wear, dirt, andother severe operating conditions encountered in locomotive operation.

Many modifications and variations of the invention will be apparent tothose skilled in the art in view of the foregoing detailed disclosure.Therefore, it is to be understood that, within the scope of the appendedclaims, the invention may be practiced otherwise than as specificallyshown and described.

What is claimed is:

1. In a railway locomotive including a braking syste 1., a control airsystem, and an air compressor for supplying air to operate said brakingsystem and control air system, the combination with said locomotive of awater cooling apparatus comprising a water tank; a cold air conductingcoil surrounding said tank for cooling the water; a vortex assemblyconnected to said coil for supplying cold air, said vortex assemblyincluding a tube, air

inlet means connected to said tube for introducing air into said tubeand creating a high speed vortex, said vortex being characterized by anaxially moving shell of relatively hot air and a core of relativelycolder air, valve means for releasing hot air from said tube, cold airescape means in communication with said coil; means connecting said aircompressor to said air inlet means for supplying air to said vortexassemb.y, said connecting means including a heat exchanger connected tothe exhaust end of said coil for cooling the air from said compressorbefore entering said vortex assembly; and an exhaust line connectedbetween said heat exchanger and a portion of said vortex assemblysurrounding said tube for allowing the exhaust air to cool said tube.

2. In a railway locomotive including a braking system, control airsystem, and an air compressor for supplying air to operate said brakingsystem and control air system, the combination with said locomotive of aWater cooling apparatus comprising a water tank; a cold air conductingcoil surrounding said tank for cooling the Water, said coil having aninlet end and an exhaust end; and a vortex cooling system for supplyingcold air to said coil, said vortex cooling system including a tube, saidtube having air inlet means for introducing air into said tube andcreating a vortex, said vortex being characterized by relatively hot airwhirling along the walls of said tube and an axially moving core ofrelatively colder air, a throttle valve at one end of said tube forreleasing relatively hot air to control the volume and temperature ofsaid core of relatively colder air, cold air outlet means centrallydisposed in said tube at one end, conduit means connecting said cold airoutlet means to said inlet end of said coil, a skirt spacedlysurrounding said tube, and conduit means connected between the exhaustend of said coil and said skirt for introducing exhaust air from saidcoil in the space surrounding said tube.

3. The apparatus as claimed in claim 2 wherein said cold air outletmeans includes means defining an aperture aligned with the axis of saidtube and a chamber downstream from said aperture, and wherein saidthrottle valve includes a plurality of exhaust openings radiallydisposed around said one end of said tube.

References Qited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS1,934,371 Mufily Nov. 7, 1933 2,741,899 Von Linde Apr. 17, 19562,763,150 OBannon Sept. 18, 1956 2,770,103 Florea Nov. 13, 19562,790,310 Green Apr. 30, 1957 2,861,431 Van Deemter Nov. 25, 19582,873,582 Green Feb. 17, 1959 2,893,215 Hendal July 7, 1959 2,952,981Bartlett Sept. 20, 1960

1. IN A RAILWAY LOCOMOTIVE INCLUDING A BRAKING SYSTEM, A CONTROL AIRSYSTEM, AND AN AIR COMPRESSOR FOR SUPPLYING AIR TO OPERATE SAID BRAKINGSYSTEM AND CONTROL AIR SYSTEM, THE COMBINATION WITH SAID LOCOMOTIVE OF AWATER COOLING APPARATUS COMPRISING A WATER TANK; A COLD AIR CONDUCTINGCOIL SURROUNDING SAID TANK FOR COOLING THE WATER; A VORTEX ASSEMBLYCONNECTED TO SAID COIL FOR SUPPLYING COLD AIR, SAID VORTEX ASSEMBLYINCLUDING A TUBE, AIR INLET MEANS CONNECTED TO SAID TUBE FOR INTRODUCINGAIR INTO SAID TUBE AND CREATING A HIGH SPEED VORTEX, SAID VORTEX BEINGCHARACTERIZED BY AN AXIALLY MOVING SHELL OF RELATIVELY HOT AIR AND ACORE OF RELATIVELY COLDER AIR, VALVE MEANS FOR RELEASING HOT AIR FROMSAID TUBE, AND COLD AIR ESCAPE MEANS IN COMMUNICATION WITH SAID COIL;MEANS CONNECTING SAID AIR COMPRESSOR TO SAID AIR INLET MEANS FORSUPPLYING AIR TO SAID VORTEX ASSEMBLY, SAID CONNECTING MEANS INCLUDING AHEAT EXCHANGER CONNECTED TO THE EXHAUST END OF SAID COIL FOR COOLING THEAIR FROM SAID COMPRESSOR BEFORE ENTERING SAID VORTEX ASSEMBLY; AND ANEXHAUST LINE CONNECTED BETWEEN SAID HEAT EXCHANGER AND A PORTION OF SAIDVORTEX ASSEMBLY SURROUNDING SAID TUBE FOR ALLOWING THE EXHAUST AIR TOCOOL SAID TUBE.